Friday, September 5, 2008

can I kiss your hand?

Petro the Mustachioed Photographer, Brett and me have decided Ukrainians are far more polite than Americans. Most Ukrainian men will stand when a woman needs a seat on a bus, people greet each other formally at the University("Glory be to Jesus Christ!" in Ukrainian), and people are genuinely interested in having conversation. Americans, by contrast, have placed a wad of chewed gum under every seat and desk in the continental 48, will greet you with "how are you doing?" and then walk away without waiting for an answer(as noted by Petro, the Ukrainian), and the preferred method of cutting food involves holding the knife like a spear.
So when I return to the states, I will start a movement, a revolution, dedicated to reviving the chivalric kissing of a lady's hand. I really don't see this as practical, but it's going to win me points with just about everyone I meet(except guys). Plus, if I can pick up some french, I might grow a mustache and address women as "mademoiselle."
But seriously, isn't this a great custom? How come Ukrainians, who have no infrastructure worth mentioning, are described by some as the "hillbillies of Europe"(not my words, but I am Ukrainian), and often match gold tank-tops with green bell-bottoms, have enough class to kiss a girl's hand when they meet her? I haven't witnessed it yet, and Petro says the custom is dying out, but everyday chivalry is something that needs to be put into practice.

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